Denzel Aberdeen led five scorers in double figures with a career-high 20 points, lifting Florida basketball to a 95-90 win over Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament semifinal at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The Florida Gators (24-10) are in the SEC Tournament championship game for the first time since 2014 and snapped a five-game losing streak to the Aggies dating back to the 2019-20 season.
Six-seed Florida will face four-seed Auburn, which beat Mississippi State in the earlier semifinal, on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Will Richard added 19 points for the Gators, with Walter Clayton Jr. scoring 16 points and Zyon Pullin and Tyrese Samuel scoring 15 points apiece.
Wade Taylor Jr. led Texas A&M with 30 points.
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Florida rallied back from down 18 points in the first half, taking its first lead, 59-58, on a 3-pointer by Clayton with 13:51 left.
Texas A&M shot 50% from the field and 46.2% percent (6-of-13) from 3-point range, taking a 50-42 lead over Florida into halftime. The Gators trailed 40-22 in the first half after a Taylor 3-pointer but went on a 22-8 run late in the first half, cutting Texas A&M’s lead to 48-42 on a runner in the lane by Zyon Pullin with 36 seconds left in the half. But Texas A&M guard Manny Obaseki got a basket on a goaltending call with 6 seconds left in the half, putting the Aggies up 50-42 at halftime.
Here are three takeaways from the Florida win:
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Aberdeen entered the game averaging 2.6 points per game, but scored 12 in the first half to help keep the Gators in the game. He maintained his offensive production into the second half, sinking a big 3-pointer to put Florida up 80-72 with 5:49 left.
Aberdeen went 6-of-9 from the floor, 4-of-5 from 3-point range and 4-of-4 from the foul line.
Florida basketball defense clamps down in the second half
After allowing Texas A&M to shoot 50% from the floor in the first half, Florida’s defense was more stout in the second half, limiting the Aggies after intermission with tougher defense.
UF basketball sizzles from the 3-point line
Florida made big perimeter shots throughout the game, going 14-of-26 from 3-point range. Clayton went 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, while Richard went 4-for-9.
First appeared on www.gainesville.com